Kentucky has become a fresh battleground over sweepstakes casinos. Eleven class-action suits were filed in the state on 22 July, targeting brands including Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, Modo and ARB Gaming. The complaints say the operators’ dual-currency systems amount to illegal gambling under Kentucky law.
Gambling lawyer Daniel Wallach drew attention to the filings, according to GamblingNews. The new cases follow an earlier Kentucky suit on 25 June, when Attorney General Russell Coleman sued VGW, the parent company behind Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots and Global Poker.
That case was filed in Franklin Circuit Court. It argued that VGW’s sweepstakes casino model is gambling because players can ultimately exchange in-game currency for cash prizes, and it sought relief under Kentucky’s Consumer Protection Act, the Loss Recovery Act and the state’s gambling statutes.
Coleman said Kentucky’s responsibility is to enforce its gambling laws regardless of how online gaming products are structured or branded. VGW rejected the claims and said it would vigorously defend the lawsuit.
The legal fight turns on how sweepstakes casinos are built. Under KRS 304.12-092, sweepstakes or drawings are allowed only if there is no participation cost, prizes do not exceed $500 in value or meet an alternative per-entrant value condition of less than $10, and entrants are not required to buy or renew insurance. KPMG’s 2025 primer says sweepstakes casinos typically use two virtual currencies, with Gold Coins carrying no monetary value and Sweeps Coins carrying monetary value and serving as the main way players can win cash prizes.
That same primer says sweepstakes casinos evolved out of social casinos and that the sector has grown quickly, with some estimates putting 2024 gross revenue above $10.6 billion and 2025 gross revenue above $14.3 billion. The industry says the model is a legal promotional sweepstakes because play is free and no purchase is necessary to receive sweeps coins, including through mail options.
No court has yet ruled that the model is illegal. The Kentucky filings land amid wider pressure on the sector, with Deadspin reporting that several operators have withdrawn from states including California as regulators and attorneys general argue that dual-currency systems let companies offer real-money gambling without a casino license. Kentucky has not yet imposed a statewide ban, so access to platforms other than VGW’s brands remains in place while the lawsuit proceeds.
